Latvia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentions that Russian football players had arrived in Latvia for a football game as part of a team from Azerbaijan. The ministry told LTV News that the institution has plans to ask other Schengen Area member states to consider Latvia’s suggestion for a unified approach to letting Russian and Belarusian citizens enter the European Union, LSM reports.
The ministry notes that Russian citizens are permitted to enter Latvia in certain cases of exception. However, sports is not an exception.
Despite existing restrictions, however, visas issued by other Schengen Area member states are still valid to enter Latvia.
In this specific case, seven Russian citizens entered Latvia as part of a football team from Azerbaijan using a visa provided by a third country, LSM notes. According to the regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers, these Russian citizens did not have a justified reason to enter Latvia.
Pēc Krievijas futbolistu ieceļošanas Latvija aicinās vienādot pieeju Šengenas vīzu izsniegšanā. https://t.co/UEMOhq8vcE pic.twitter.com/8JPdP2M2VU
— LTV Ziņu dienests (@ltvzinas) July 26, 2023
Latvian Football Federation (LEF) President Vadims Ļašenko told the media that they did not host the Azerbaijan club, and the issue of their participation in the game is the competence of participating clubs.
According to information from LSM, before the training camp in Austria, the Azerbaijan team was provided with Schengen visa, which is also valid to enter Latvia,
because there is not border control in the Schengen area.
Rules of Procedure of the Union of the European Football Federation permit holders of Russian passports to participate in games.
Because they arrived in Latvia without crossing the EU-Russian border, these Russian citizens are staying in Latvia legally, explains the Chief of the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs Maira Roze.
Because the visa issued by another country is valid to enter other Schengen area member states, PMLP chief believes the topic regarding the entry of Russian citizens to Latvia should be addressed to the State Border Guard.
Acting chief of the State Border Guard’s Border Check and Immigration Control Office Agnis Višņevskis told the media that the institution does not have information as to how representatives of Azerbaijan football club had entered Latvia.
Višņevskis said “they did not cross Latvia’s external border, because if that happened, border guards would have had information about documents and permits”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sees this situation as unacceptable, adding that not all countries of the Schengen area have restrictions as tough as Baltic States do. This is why it is easier to get a visa in another country and use it to travel to Latvia.
The ministry’s representative Diāna Eglīte told LSM that the ministry plans to discuss this issue on the European level. Latvia’s ministry recommends Latvian businessmen and sports organisations to think about cooperation with Russia and its citizens very carefully.
At the same time, Eglīte admits that what happened shows that neither the ministry nor other services have reliable information to tell how many Russian citizens have entered the country using such means.
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